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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 523 records · Page 29

Advanced Supersonic Parachute Inflation Research Experiment-2 (ASPIRE2) Parachute Modeling and Flight Mechanics Performance

The Advanced Supersonic Parachute Inflation Research Experiment-2 (ASPIRE2) program is designed to test and qualify the supersonic parachute for the Mars entry, descent, and landing stage of the Mars Sample Return campaign. The ASPIRE2 test was planned for early 2026 and would have involved testing the parachute at deployments of Mach 2.1 and higher load conditions than previous Mars missions. The ASPIRE2 simulation builds upon a previous test framework from the ASPIRE tests in 2017-2018 used to qualify the Mars 2020 parachute, but due to new requirements, the modeling and simulation for ASPIRE2 has needed development and characterization of different sensitivities. This paper looks at the mission design as of mid-2024 and presents the trade space for qualifying the parachute in a dynamic environment.

Evan Roelke↗

Non-Gaussian Ensemble Filtering and Adaptive Inflation for Soil Moisture Data Assimilation

The rank histogram filter (RHF) and the ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF) are assessed for soil moisture estimation using perfect model (identical twin) synthetic data assimilation experiments. The primary motivation is to gauge the impact on analysis quality attributable to the consideration of non-Gaussian forecast error distributions. Using the NASA Catchment land surface model, the two filters are compared at 18 globally distributed single-catchment locations for a 10-yr experiment period. It is shown that both filters yield adequate estimates of soil moisture, with the RHF having a small but significant performance advantage. Most notably, the RHF consistently increases the normalized information contribution (NIC) score of the mean absolute bias by 0.05 over that of the EnKF for surface, root-zone, and profile soil moisture. The RHF also increases the NIC score for the anomaly correlation of surface soil moisture by 0.02 over that of the EnKF (at a 5% significance level). Results additionally demonstrate that the performance of both filters is somewhat improved when the ensemble priors are adaptively inflated to offset the negative effects of systematic errors.

Rolf Reichle↗

Advanced Supersonic Parachute Inflation Research Experiment-2 (ASPIRE2) Parachute Modeling and Flight Mechanics Performance

The Advanced Supersonic Parachute Inflation Research Experiment-2 (ASPIRE2) program is designed to test and qualify the supersonic parachute for the Mars entry, descent, and landing stage of the Mars Sample Return campaign. The ASPIRE2 test was planned for early 2026 and would have involved testing the parachute at deployments of Mach 2.1 and higher load conditions than previous Mars missions. The ASPIRE2 simulation builds upon a previous test framework from the ASPIRE tests in 2017-2018 used to qualify the Mars 2020 parachute, but due to new requirements, the modeling and simulation for ASPIRE2 has needed development and characterization of different sensitivities. This paper looks at the mission design as of mid-2024 and presents the trade space for qualifying the parachute in a dynamic environment.

Evan Roelke↗

Framework for Seismic Vulnerability Assessment of Nonstructural Elements Inside an Inflatable Lunar Habitat

The pursuit of knowledge and curiosity are once again driving humanity to seek a human presence on extraterrestrial bodies. While numerous challenges must be overcome on the moon to achieve this goal, the moonquake hazard has often been overlooked. Using NASA’s Moon to Mars Architecture requirements for surface habitation and accounting for the midterm/long-term mission duration, a framework for vulnerability assessment is developed for essential nonstructural elements (NSEs) inside an inflatable habitat subjected to moonquakes. The aim of this study is to develop an approach to assess the vulnerability of typical NSEs that support essential equipment, such as the environmental control and life support system, under a paucity of information related to the seismic hazard. We also emphasize that the launch dynamic environment and lunar seismic environment exhibit notable differences in their characteristics, which can lead to higher lateral acceleration levels than initially expected. This acceleration may be linked to high-occurrence seismic events. However, due to the lack of information regarding the frequency of these events, the risk of NSEs being subjected to unforeseen loads increases. It is imperative to equip future lunar habitats with seismic mitigation measures until additional seismometers are deployed near upcoming surface human outposts.

Oscar D Forero↗

The Realization of Inflatable Array Antennas

JPL/NASA's deep-space exploration and Earth remote sensing programs have been placing emphasis on reducing the mass and stowage volume of their spacecraft's high-gain and large apertur antennas.

Antenna Array Inflatable↗

Thermal distortion analyses of a three-meter inflatable reflectarray antenna

Gossamer space structures are relatively large, flimsy, and lightweight. As a result, they are more easily affected or degraded by space thermal environments compared to other space structures. This study examines the structural integrity of a three-meeter Ka-band inltable/self-rigidizable reflectarray antenna under space thermal environments.

thermal inflatable temperature buckling boom anten↗

The Development of Inflatable Array Antenna

JPL/NASA's deep-space exploration has been placing emphasis on reducing the mass and storage volume of its spacecraft's high-gain and large aperture antennas.

array antennas inflatable↗